A Beautiful Affliction
by Erin Wood
Summary: Police Evidence: Journal Excerpt #120: This will be the last thing I ever write. After they take their last gasping breaths, I will finally feel complete. I am the angel of death. [A story of Tate's descent into madness]
1. Flicker

**A Beautiful Affliction**

**Chapter One: Flicker**

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_October 31st, 1994_

_Journal Entry #120_

_I have never felt this way before. I have never felt so much rage build up inside of me in such a short time. I can't hold it in anymore. I don't know why and I don't know how this happened to me but I can't suppress this part of me anymore. Nothing makes sense but at the same time everything makes sense._

_Everything in my life has led to this. Everything I've ever done or said has contributed to my end, to their end. I don't feel anything anymore but blind rage. I don't feel anything for anyone or anything. There is no sympathy, no love, no sadness, no guilt._

_This will be the last thing I ever write. After they take their last gasping breaths, I will finally feel complete._

_I am the angel of death._

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"I'm home!" Tate yelled, as he slammed the door behind him.

There was no response. He was used to it. Ever since he could remember, he would come home to either complete silence or the sound of his mother sobbing in her room. She would cry about the past, things that she can never take back or change. What these things were, no one knew. She would never utter a word about it to anyone. It was just another secret hidden deep in the crevices of this house.

Tate dropped his school bag by the bottom of the stairs and ran up them two at a time. Plopping down on his bed, he put on his headphones and started to listen to one of his favorite cassette tapes, Nirvana's "Nevermind".

He shut his eyes and started to mouth the words. Suddenly, there was a loud tap on the side of his left headphone. He instantly opened his eyes wide and sat up, looking around the room as his heart pounded in his chest. This place was full of malevolent spirits. Spirits who were wronged, tortured, their souls remaining here forever. Removing his headphones, he got up off of his bed, "Hello?"

There was no answer, only silence. "Who's there? I know it's one of you lousy spirits just trying to piss me off again," Tate said, smugly.

Still nothing. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat back down on his bed. This time there was a tap at the back of his ankles. "Please, if you're really trying to scare me this is one sad attempt," He spoke, as he peeked under the bed.

Suddenly, there was a loud rattle and the mirror in the room shook violently. As he looked up, there was a quick movement, a flicker, and then silence. Drawn on the mirror in red lipstick was heart with a giant X through it.

The next morning, Tate woke up feeling slightly groggy. He hadn't slept very well because he expected the spirits to be playing their tricks on him again. Anticipating another scene, he had slept with one eye open most of the night. Earlier this morning he heard the front door slamming, and given the silence throughout the house, he was pretty sure that everyone went out. He was alone. Tate enjoyed these days the most because he felt free to do whatever he wanted without his "step-father" Larry judging his every movement.

Tate started running the water in the shower as he undressed, not bothering to shut the door since no one was around. This was the type of freedom he loved. He stepped into the shower and welcomed the feel of hot water hitting against his skin. He felt it run through his thick blond hair and down his face onto his chest and stomach. He stood there for a long time before washing up and reluctantly getting out.

He wrapped a white, fluffy towel around himself and let it soak up the tiny droplets of water that remained on his body. As he went to wipe off the steam on the mirror, he raised his eyebrows in shock as he saw what was written on it "NICE ASS!"

"Hah!" He exclaimed, "Looks like we've got ourselves some promiscuous ghosts around here".

He turned to look at the door and was so startled when he saw someone standing there that he dropped his towel, exposing himself. There stood a girl of similar age with long blonde hair and the most intensely green eyes with flecks of gold throughout them. By the look on her face, she was clearly amused. Tate scrambled for his towel to cover himself up. "Ghosts, huh? " The girl said, "Aren't you a little old for that kind of thing?"

"Who are you? What do you want? Did you write that on my mirror?" Tate scowled at her.

The girl leaned forward through the door and looked at the mirror, "Really? Do you think I'm some sort of pervert or something?"

"Well, I wouldn't know that because I have no idea who you are and why you're in my house so please explain," Tate said, annoyed at the girl's sudden appearance.

"My name is Chloe. I'm friends with your sister, Addy. She told me to come up here to give you this letter that arrived for you in the mail," The girl said, as she held out a manila envelope, "She told me you run track. That's pretty neat. I used to run too before… well, I'm just not cut out for it anymore I guess".

Tate snatched the envelope, "Thanks. Well, it was nice to meet you uh… Chloe. I'd recommend knocking next time".

"I'd recommend shutting the door next time. See you around, Tate," Chloe said with a smile, as she turned to walk down the hallway to the stairs.

Tate shook his head and looked down at the envelope in his hands. There was no return address. He started to open it but his finger caught on the paper, cutting it. A drop of blood fell to the floor, staining the white tile. "Ouch," He murmured, as he put his finger into his mouth to stop the bleeding.

He pulled out the white sheet of paper from the envelope and opened it up. The expression on his face changed from confusion to disgust, "Is this some kind of fucking joke?"

On the page was a drawing of a skeleton in a long trench coat holding a large gun pointed at a classroom full of students. Tate clenched his fists tight, crumpling the paper into a tight ball, "Fuck this place".

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**A/N: This is my first American Horror Story Fan fic! Hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter & I hope to hear some feedback, so please leave me a review! :) There will be a lot of surprises to come so please stay tuned!**


	2. Visions

**A Beautiful Affliction**

**Chapter Two: Visions**

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That night was cold and dark. A full moon shone in the sky, giving a little brightness. Rays of light shot in through Tate's window as he slept peacefully. Suddenly, there was a series of hard knocks. Tate sat up in his bed, startled, "Who's there?" he asked, sleepily.

There was no response. It took him a moment to realize that the knocks were coming from the door downstairs. Tate rose from his bed and started to walk down the hallway to the main staircase. He stopped at the top of the stairs and waited. Again there was the sound of three loud knocks. Walking down the steps, Tate made his way to the door. He peeked out and looked to see who was standing there but the front porch was vacant, "What the hell?" He muttered, as he slowly unlocked the door to go out and look around.

Before he could figure out what was happening, the front door slammed open and knocked Tate backwards. He slammed into the wall and the door hit him so hard in the face that he felt a familiar warm sensation running down onto his lips and chin. He put his hand to his nose and wiped away the blood, leaving a bright red smudge behind. Slowly, he came out from behind the door and closed it. Looking around, he grabbed an umbrella that was hanging from one of the coat hangers nearby. It wasn't the best weapon, but it would have to do. "Who are you?!" Tate shouted, raising the umbrella, "What do you want?"

Everything was silent except for the sound of the wind hitting the old house, making it creak and groan. Tate closed his fists tighter around the umbrella as he slowly walked around, examining the room. As he headed for the grand staircase, he began to slide on the floor. He grabbed for a railing to stop from falling, dropping the umbrella to the ground with a clash. He let out a sigh as he bent down to examine the floor. There was a large puddle of blood at the bottom of the stairs that led up the staircase, as if someone or something was dragged along the floor. Tate's heart quickened as he grabbed onto the umbrella again and started to head up the stairs, wary of the blood seeping into the rug that covered the steps.

The trail of blood led him down the hallway to one of the bathrooms. Tate pushed open the door and found that the blood had ended. "Where are you!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

He left the bathroom and made his way back to the staircase. He nearly dropped the umbrella again in shock when he saw that the pools of blood had vanished. He looked down at the door below and noticed that it was locked, as if it had been the whole time. "What is this?!" Tate exclaimed, as he ran back into the bathroom and turned on the light.

He ripped open the shower curtain but there was nothing there. He turned to face the mirror and saw that the blood from his nose had dried on his face. Looking around one last time, Tate lowered his head to the sink and ran the water to wash off the dried blood. The cool water felt refreshing against his clammy skin. Tate let out a sigh and raised his head to look into the mirror. His eyes widened in fear as he saw a black hooded figure standing behind him. He opened his mouth to scream when the lights flickered and went out. A cold, wrinkled hand wrapped itself around his mouth to prevent his screams and dragged him down to the floor.

Tate wriggled around and tried to free himself of whatever had a tight grip on him. He managed to push away the hand for a split second, just long enough for him to let out a loud cry, "HELPPPPPPPPP!"

Even after the hand found his mouth again, he stomped his feet on the ground and pounded his body against it as best as he could, hoping to wake someone. Anyone. He could faintly hear footsteps walking down the hall. He wriggled even harder, slamming his fists against the floorboards. Suddenly, the light turned on. In the hallway, just outside of the door, stood his mother in her nightgown. "Tate?" She spoke, hesitantly, "What's going on?"

Tate sat up and looked around the room. There was no one in the bathroom besides himself. "Mom," He said, breathing heavily, "There was someone in the house. Someone got in and they took a hold of me and choked me".

Constance stood there with a surprised look on her face, mixed with fear. "Son, are you okay?" She rushed towards him and held him in her arms, "LARRY? LARRY!"

A few moments later, Larry appeared at the bathroom door, "What is it?!"

"Larry, someone's in the house. They attacked Tate, they attacked my baby," Constance cooed, rocking Tate back and forth.

This was the most attention Tate had gotten from his mother in years. He was shocked and at the same time angry that something like this was the only way he could get his mother to notice him. He felt the warm sensation in his nose again as more blood started to pour down his face. Constance began to wail, "Larry! Do something! He's bleeding from his nose now!"

"It's ok, Mom," Tate spoke, getting to his feet, "I got hit in the face when the door slammed open downstairs and that guy got in. I'll be fine. But we need to find this person and get them out of here".

Larry looked at Tate skeptically at first, and then his expression suddenly looked tired and annoyed, "Tate, are you just looking for attention again? I can't possibly believe that someone got in through that door without kicking it down. The door doesn't look like it was tampered with at all".

"Yes, Larry. That's because I unlocked it. Someone was knocking. I didn't see who it was. They slammed the door in my face and bolted up the stairs to the bathroom. When I came in, they startled to strangle me. It was a figure in a black hooded cloak. The strange thing is, when Mom came in and turned on the lights, it was gone," Tate explained.

Larry raised his eyebrows at Tate, "Boy, you best get to bed. There's something wrong with your head. If there was someone in the house, I would know it".

"Are you sure about this Larry? I am scared and worried. What if there is someone in here?" Constance asked, getting to her feet as well.

"No, honey. Everything is fine. You know how Tate is. Let's all get back to bed, it's late," Larry said, calmly as he led Constance through the door and down the hall.

He looked back at Tate as he went and glared at him. "Asshole," Tate scowled, as he wiped more blood from his nose.

He walked down the hallway to his bedroom, when he noticed the door was slightly ajar. He pushed it open slowly, ready for someone to jump out at him and grab him again. Instead, he saw Chloe sitting at the edge of his bed, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. "What are you doing here? You scared me half to death!" Tate said, defensively.

"I'm sorry. Addy and I were having a sleepover and I heard you screaming and your mother screaming about how you were bleeding from your nose. I brought you this ice, wrapped in a cloth," She handed it to him, with a small smile on her face.

Tate reached for the cloth and nodded his head, "Thanks, but I'm fine. You better get back to bed. Strange things go on in this house after dark. Things you don't want to hear or see".

Chloe got up off of the bed and walked over to Tate, "I'm not scared of anything anymore, Tate. Why be afraid of something you don't understand?"

Tate looked at her and shook his head, "Girls".

Chloe leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek, "That's from Addy. She wanted to make sure you were okay and wanted me to tell you goodnight," She whispered.

She walked to the doorway of the room and turned back to look at him, "Don't be afraid, Tate. There's no point living in fear. Before you know it, your entire life would have been spent scared of the unknown and it would all have been for nothing".

Tate stared at her for a moment and saw a glint of sadness in her eyes before he spoke, "Goodnight to you too and please say goodnight to Addy for me".

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**A/N: Sorry it took a bit for me to post this next chapter! I am looking forward to sharing the next one because things are starting to heat up. Thanks to everyone who is reading along! **


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